Johnson bill would repeal tribe's recognition

News-Times, The (Danbury, CT)

Published 7:00 pm, Thursday, March 10, 2005

Congresswoman Nancy Johnson (R-5th) announced in Kent last Friday that she has introduced a bill in Congress that would repeal the federal recognition granted to the Kent-based Schaghticoke Tribal Nation in January 2004.

Lawmakers described the move as a way to send a message to Congress about problems in the BIA, but it also is contrary to previous arguments some have made about keeping politics and Congress out of recognition decisions.

It would be the first time Congress has rescinded a tribe's recognition since the 1960s, when tribes actively sought to distance themselves from the U.S. government.

The proposed legislation was immediately condemned by Schaghticoke Chief Richard Velky, who said Mrs. Johnson told the tribe in 1994 that it should not seek recognition through Congress.

"She said she would fight the move if we tried because there was a system in place that worked and we needed to use it," said Chief Velky. "Now look who's running to Congress to try to get a legislative move."

Federal recognition allows a Tribe education and housing benefits and the opportunity to negotiate a casino pact with the state. Chief Velky has said the Schaghticokes would be interested in building a casino in western Connecticut but not in Kent.

Under a 1994 law, Congress can grant federal recognition to a tribe - as it did in the case of the Mashantucket Pequots in eastern Connecticut - and it can terminate a tribe's recognition.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal acknowledged that Mrs. Johnson's bill may be an uphill battle, but he said he shares the goal of reversing the BIA's decision regarding the Schaghticokes.

"The facts and law are on our side in the administrative appeal," he said in a prepared statement. "The BIA recognition of the Schaghticoke group was fatally flawed and lawless because it fails to meet long established criteria for this sovereign status. I welcome this sign of solidarity and hope that it sends a signal to the BIA."